Monday, September 5, 2011

Barbecued Bruschetta

Happy Monday! Did you have a fabulous long weekend? We've had a good mix of R & R, barbecues, visits with friends and downtime with the poochies.

Today I was planning to putter around the house and do some long overdue closet organization, but what I ended up doing was flipping between a marathon of The Big Bang Theory and a marathon of Two Guys, A Girl & A Pizza Place. Our weather has gone through a dramatic change from hot, sunny and humid to cool, gray and rainy. It was the perfect day to veg out and do a whole lotta' nothin'! 

I really had nothing planned in terms of meals for today, so I pulled out a pizza dough that's been thawed since Saturday. I've been dying to try a pizza dough on the barbie and there seemed like no better time than the present.

Earlier this summer, Lisa did a guest post for Cait at Beyond Bananas giving instructions on barbecuing a pizza. I followed her directions for the crust. It was super easy! If I can have success on the barbie, trust me when I say so can you (we uh, won't talk about that time I almost singed my eyebrows off) :-D !!!!!!

Andrea's Kick Butt Bruschetta

The thing I absolutely love about this bruschetta is the addition of sundried tomatoes. It kicks up the flavour and puts this bruschetta over the top. Today I used all fresh ingredients from my patio garden and it tasted absolutely dreamy! I used a barbecued pizza crust today, but often I slice up a baguette and bake it in the oven. This make a great appetizer that you can get ready before the party and takes just a few seconds to finalize so you can WOW your guests!

2 c. diced tomatoes
1/3 c. sliced sundried tomatoes
1/2 c. thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tbsp minced garlic
 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt & pepper, to taste
1 - 1.5 c. shredded mozzarella

Add all ingredients, except the mozzarella, into a small bowl and mix well to combine. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Cook the barbecue pizza dough according to Lisa's directions. Once the crust is cooked on one side, flip it and evenly spread the bruschetta mix over the crust followed by the mozzarella.

Close the lid to the barbecue and let the crust finish baking. Once the crust is cooked and the cheese is all ooey gooey and delicious, remove from the barbecue.

Let sit for a few minutes. Slice into squares and serve.

Hint - the one thing I would do next time is use a slotted spoon when spreading the bruschetta mix onto the pizza crust. Mine ended being a little runnier than I would have liked.


mmmmm.....fresh basil & tomatoes.......

Lightly oiling the dough helped it not to stick to the grill ~ it worked perfectly!

So, I think I need to work on even cooking. It still worked out great, but didn't make for a real cute pic!

Have I ever told you how much I love bruschetta?
I could eat the tomato mix with a spoon :-D


So Good! I couldn't wait to take a bite!

Everyone will love this appie and will be asking you for the recipe!

What is your fave appetizer to serve ~ link it up and share your recipe with me!
What was the best thing you did to celebrate the last long weekend of the summer?

Have a great evening - Enjoy the last few hours of this marvelous holiday Monday,
Andrea

6 comments:

  1. oh my gosh I love bruschetta! My boyfriend I make it often.. I love the idea or barbecuing it!!! It looks so good! My favorite app is brie with a sundried tomato topping on it - i haven't posted it but I will soon!!

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  2. I did the same thing as you did today! I vegged out on the couch and switched between a marathon of Chopped and Jersey Shore! Perfect lazy rainy day!

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  3. Okay so I have most of these ingredients. Bruschetta for breakfast? Maybe?

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  4. I am obsessed with bruschetta, too bad the bf doesn't like it much and i love making it with feta, mmmmmmm and i need to try this pizza on a bbq!

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  5. This looks SO good!! We've been talking about grilling pizza for so long now, but we're scared to mess it up!! This might need to happen soon though... :-)

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  6. OH My GOODNESS!!! How gorgeous is this??? I love serving up thin pizza made with brown rice tortillas and some goat chedda ;) MMMMMM

    xxxoo

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